Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church Celebrates the Season
You have trimmed your tree, wrapped your presents and baked your cookies. But have you and your family really prepared for Christmas?
For Christians around the world, the Christmas season celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God. The preparation for Christmas begins four weeks earlier with the season of Advent, which marks the beginning of the church year.
"Advent is a season of waiting, watching and wondering," said Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church Senior Pastor Carlos Schneider. "It is an anomaly in our fast-paced, frenetic and frantic culture. God calls us in Advent to pause, reflect, wonder and hope, to watch and wait for the holy mystery of birth and new life. It is a time to prepare and to pay attention."
Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church invites the community to join them for mid-week Advent services during this hopeful season. On Wednesdays, December 1, 8 and 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Kountze will have a soup supper and advent worship. The price for supper is $3 for adults and $1 for children. You can also attend the worship service at 6:30 p.m. without attending the supper.
This year, Kountze plans to use a Taize service for its midweek service. Taize is a village in the south of Burgundy, France. In this village, more than 60 years ago, Brother Roger founded a community devoted to prayer and living a parable of reconciliation within the church and the human family.
The distinguishing marks of Taize prayer include repetition and silence and the insertion of these into the liturgy. There are not many short silences in a Taize prayer; rather the prayer moves along according to a certain rhythm through song, psalm and reading leading up to a longer silence, which then culminates in intercessory prayer and more song.
"This midweek service and the Taize should be a welcome change of pace for most people, who are otherwise caught up in the bustle of the holiday season," Schneider said.
Two additional events this season include: The Kountze Women of the ELCA will be sponsoring their annual Christmas tea on Friday, December 3 at noon. The event is free and open to the public. Also, a Children's Christmas program will be presented during the 9 and 11 a.m. services on Sunday, December 12. "The Christmas Checklist" is a musical that will include traditional Christmas carols with added actions, instruments and sign language.
Kountze's Christmas Eve services will take place at 4, 7 and 11 p.m. on Friday, December 24. The 4 p.m. service includes a festive Eucharist (Holy Communion) with a special emphasis on children. The 7 and 11 p.m. services also include a festive Eucharist with a traditional liturgy that includes carols and candle lighting.
On Christmas Day, December 25, there will be a 10 a.m. Eucharist service.
Finally, on Sunday, December 26, the 9 and 11 a.m. services will consist of festive lessons and carols.
"It is a wonderful celebration of the Nativity of our Lord," Schneider said.
With all of these activities at Kountze Memorial, there is something for everyone to prepare for the Christmas season.
Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church is located at 2650 Farnam Street, with Free parking available just west of the church at 27th and Farnam. Weekly services are at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 and 11 a.m. on Sundays. The 9 a.m. Sunday service is televised live on Cox Cable Chanel 2.
For more information, visit www.kmlchurch.org or call (402) 341-7761.